Apparatus for making crimped electrical connections



July 4, 1967 REEM ET AL APPARATUS FOR MAKING CRIMPED ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan.

July 4, 1967 R, E ET AL 3,328,872

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CRIMPED ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed Jan. 7, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 4, 1967 REEM ET AL 3,328,872

APPARATUS FOR MAKING GRIMPED ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Fil ed Jan. 7, 196.6

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 &

July 4, 1967 R. E. REEM ET AL APPARATUS FOR MAKING CRIMPED ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 4 SheetsSheet 4 Filed Jan. 7, 1966 VVV United States Patent 3,328,872 APPARATUS FOR MAKING CRIMPED ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Richard Ellwood Reem, York Springs, and John Roy Vickery, In, York, Pa, assignors to AMP Incorporated,

Harrisburg, Pa.

Filed Jan. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 539,230 8 Claims. (Cl. 29-203) This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Ser. No. 351,024, filed Mar. 11, 1964, now abandoned.

This invention relates to an apparatus for making crimped electrical connections.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus for forming electrical connections between wires and connectors or terminals having a generally channel-shaped ferrule forming portion. It is a further object of the invention to provide a device for crimping a connector onto a wire which does not require precise and exacting positioning of the wire in the connector prior to crimping. A still further object of the invention is to provide a device for crimping a connector onto a wire which trims the wire immediately prior to crimping and locates the proper length of wire in the connector at the time of crimping. A further object is to provide an apparatus for crimping a connector onto the ends of two wires to form an electrical splice between the wires. A further object is to provide an improved apparatus for making a tap connection with a through conductor. A further object of the invention is to provide a tool for crimping a splicetype connector onto two wires which trims the two wires, positions the proper length of each wire in the splice connector, and crimps the connector onto both of the wires in one operating cycle.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferred embodiment thereof comprising a crimping die and :a crimping anvil, which are movable relatively towards and away from each other, and a severing member which is disposed between the die and anvil when they are apart. The crimping anvil is adapted to support the connector being crimped onto the wires. The crimping die has a trough-like cavity on one side thereof and extending from one of its ends to the opposite end. This cavity constitutes forming surfaces for bending the sidewalls of the connector into crimped engagement with the wires. A conductor receiving slot is provided in the die intermediate its ends and extends inwardly on three sides thereof, these three sides being the one side on which the forming surface is provided, a side adjacent to the one side, and the side opposite to the one side. The slot intersects the forming surfaces and is of a width suflicient to receive the wires. The severing member is movable into the slot and has a relatively close fit therein so that it can cooperate with the sides of the slot to shear the conductors. In use, and when two conductors extending towards each other are to be spliced, the wires are positioned in the troughlike cavity of the die with their end portion extending laterally through the slot. The severing member is moved into the slot to trim the ends of the wires and the anvil, on which the connector is supported, is thereafter moved towards the die. The trimmed ends of the wires in the trough-like cavity will then be located in the connector and the connector itself will be crimped onto the trimmed ends.

An outstanding advantage of the invention is that the manipulative steps of locating the wires in the apparatus at the time of crimping are extremely simple and can be carried out accurately and rapidly by a relatively inexperienced operator. As will be explained in detail below, apparatus in accordance with the invention can be used to form T-type electrical connectors or pigtail connections as well as splices between wires extending towards each other.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a crimped electrical connection formed by a tool in accordance with the invention of the type shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional side view of an uncrimped connector of the type used to form a splice connection of the type shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the connector of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a preferred form of crimping tool in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional frontal View of the head portion of the tool showing the relative positions of the dies and anvil at the beginning of an operating cycle;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 but showing the positions of the parts at a time midway through the cycle and after the wires which are to be spliced have been trimmed;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 but showing the positions of the parts at the end of the crimping cycle;

FIGURE 8 is a view taken along the lines 88 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 and illusstrating the manner in which a tap connection is made in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of a simplified form of apparatus in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 11 is a view taken along the lines 1111 of FIGURE 10;

FIGURES 12 and 13 are views similar to FIGURE 11 and illustrating the positions of the parts during successive stages of the operating cycle;

FIGURES l417 show some alternative methods of making crimped connections with slightly modified apparatus; and

FIGURE 18 shows an alternative splice connection.

FIGURE 1 shows a splice connection between a first pair of wires 16, 16 and a second pair of wires 14, 14 which is formed in accordance with the principles of the invention by means of a connector 2. The connector 2 is channel-shaped or U-shaped in cross-section and has a web 4 and sidewalls 6 extending from the sides of the web. Advantageously, a film 8 of suitable insulating material such as Mylar (polyethylene terephthalate) is provided on the external surface of the connector 2 and extends slightly beyond the edges of the sidewalls 6. A pair of tongues 10 are struck up from the web 4 adjacent to each end thereof and each tongue is provided with a pair of notches 12. The crimped connection of FIGURE 1 is made by positioning the ends of the wires 14, 14 and 16, 16' between the sidewalls 6 of the connector and bending these sidewalls relatively towards each other and downwardly towards the web to force the ends of the wires into the notches. The insulation of the wire is penetrated by the side of the notches 12 to establish electrical contact. At the time of crimping, the insulating film 8 which extends beyond the upper edges of the sidewalls 6 is brought downwardly towards the web along with the sidewalls and gripped between the opposed surfaces of the sidewalls as is apparent from FIGURE 1. The tool in accordance with this invention which is described below is adapted to crimp the particular connectors shown in FIGURE 2 onto the ends of wires although it will be obvious that the invention can be utilized in the crimping of other types of channel-shaped connectors (i.e., connectors having an open side). It should be mentioned that while FIGURE 1 shows a common connection among four wires, apparatus in accordance with the invention can also be used to make a splice connection between two wires extending towards each other. In the interest of clarity, the apparatus shown in FIGURE-S 4-13 are illustrated under circumstances where only two wires are being connected.

The basic concept of the invention can be understood from FIGURES 10-13 which are more or less schematic representations intended to illustrate the principles involved. The apparatus of FIGURE 10 comprises an anvil 106, a die block, and a severing member 110. The anvil block has a supporting surface 107 for the uncrimped connector (which is also shown schematically and without the tongues or insulation in the interest of clarity). The die block has a die cavity on its side 111 which is opposite to the anvil. This die cavity extends between the ends of the block and has convergent forming surfaces 109 which merge at a cusp. These forming surfaces function to bend the sidewalls of the connector into crimped engagement with the wires when the die and anvil are moved relatively towards each other. A slot 112 is provided in the die block intermediate its ends and extends inwardly on the side 111, the adjacent side 113 and on the side 114 which is the opposite side from the side 111 on which the die cavity is provided. This slot intersects, and extends beyond, the cavity as clearly shown in FIGURE 11.

The severing member 110 is disposed between the die and anvil when they are apart but is movable into the slot as shown in FIGURES 12 and 13. The width of this severing member is substantially equal to the width of the slot so that wires positioned in the slot will be severed when the member 110 moves into the slot as will presently be explained.

In use where the wires 14, 16 are to be spliced, the wires are positioned in the die cavity on each side of the slot with their ends 14a, 16a extending laterally through the slot. The severing member is moved into the slot and the wires are sheared in the planes of the sides of the slot (FIGURE 12) by the cooperative action of the leading edges of the severing member and the edges of the die cavity at the sides of the slot. The scrap ends 14a, 16a of wire are removed or will fall free by the force of gravity, depending upon the orientation of the apparatus. The trimmed ends of the wires 14, 16 will remain in the die cavity and the connector will be crimped onto these ends when the anvil and die are moved relatively towards each other (FIGURE 13).

A wide variety of types of crimping devices in accordance with the invention are suggested by the showings of FIGURES l13. A specific form of hand tool is described below in which the serving member 110 also functions as a part of the crimping die assembly. Another form of hand tool in accordance with the invention is shown in the co-pending application of William Roderick Over, Ser. No. 426,257, filed Jan. 18, 1965, and an automatic apparatus in accordance with the invention is shown in application Ser. No. 454,105, filed May 7, 1965, now Patent No. 3,287,790 by Coey William Fritz, et al.

A salient advantage of the invention, which will be apparent from an inspection of FIGURES -13 is that the manipulative steps of positioning the wire in the apparatus is extremely simple and can be carried out rapidly by an inexperienced operator. The wires are trimmed during the crimping operation and the scrap ends 14a, 16a are disposed of. The amount of tension in the wires 14, 16 after splicing can be controlled by the operator since he pulls the wires through the slot immediately prior to crimping.

The above-described advantages of the invention render it particularly useful in the telephone industry where hundreds .or thousands of individual conductors in a single cable are spliced as a routine operation and a high production rate is essential. Other advantages of the in- 4 vention are explained below in the description of the tool shown in FIGURES 4-9.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, one form of crimping tool 18 embodying the principles of the invention has a fixed handle 20 and a movable handle 22. The upper end 23 of the handle 20 is provided with a pair of laterally extending flanges 24 within which the tool linkage is housed and between which the upper end of the handle 22 is pivoted as shown at 26. Advantageously, a ratchettype full stroke compelling device 28 as disclosed in US. Patent 2,618,993 is provided to assu're complete closure of the handles after a crimping stroke has been initiated.

A generally C-shaped tool head 32 having an upper arm 36 and a lower arm 34 is contained between the sides 24 of the housing at their upper ends and secured to the housing by means of fasteners 33. A reciprocable ram 30 extends slid-ably through a bore 29 in the lower arm 34 of the head 3-2. The tool linkage for moving this ram upwardly upon closure of the handles 20, 22 may be of any suitable type, for example as shown in US. Patent 3,029,670. For purposes of the instant disclosure, it is sufficient to say that the ram 30 is moved upwardly from a position of FIGURE 5 to the position of FIGURE 7 upon movement of the handle 22 towards the handle 20.

A recess 38 extends transversely across the arm 36 on its underside and the anvil block 40 is mounted or secured in this recess by means of a fastener 44. This fastener extends through the block 40, through a plate 46 on the right-hand side of the fastener as viewed in FIGURE 6 and is held in position by a nut. The plate 46 is secured to the upper arm 36 by means of suitable screws (not shown) which extend through the plate, through spacers 50 interposed between the side of the arm 36 and the plate, and into openings 48 in the arm 36.

The anvil 42 projects from the underside of the block 40 and, in the embodiment shown, is of a simple rectangular configuration. This anvil cooperates with a crimping die assembly including a center die 52 and a pair of end dies 54, 56 on each side of the center die. The end dies 54, 56 are offset with respect to the center die along the path of movement of the center die towards the anvil so that a gap remains between these end dies and center die when the parts are in the position shown in FIGURE 5. The end dies 54, 56 can be considered as a single die having a transversely extending slot as explained with reference to the embodiment of FIGURE 10. The center die functions as a shearing member (corresponding to the severing member 110 of FIGURE 10) during the initial stages of the operating cycle as will be explained below. The forming surfaces of the dies 52, 54, 56 are designed to curl the sidewalls 6 of the connector 2 towards each other and bend these sidewalls downwardly against the Web of the connector. The die surfaces thus constitute a trough-like cavity having converging sides 58 which are reversely curled as shown at 60 towards each other to form a cusp.

The end dies 54, 56 are each integral with, and extend from, a die block 62 which is slidable over a bearing surface 74 on the head member 32. Die block e2 has a centrally located and forwardly extending ledge 64 on its lower end which projects over the upper end of the ram 30. Ledge 64 is suitably secured to a disc 66 on its underside which, in turn, is suitably secured to the upper end of the ram 30 as by welding or by the use of suitable fasteners.

The opposed sides 73, '75 of the end dies 54, 56 define the slot into which the center die 52 is relatively movable, the lower end 77 of this slot (FIGURE 8) functioning as a stop for the center die as is more fully described below. An arm 76 extends downwardly as viewed in the drawing from the center die 52 and is slidably received within a centrally located groove 78 int-he die block 62. The center die is normally biased upwardly beyond the end dies by means of a spring 80 which is contained within a recess in the arm 76 and which bears at its lower end against the block 64. The center die is thus normally located between the end dies and the anvil. A pin 81 provided on the left-hand side of the die 52 and adjacent to the rearward end thereof extends laterally beyond the frame 32 to permit manual lowering of this center die when it is desired to position an uncrimped terminal in the tool as is explained below.

In order to prevent upward movement of the center die, under the influence of the spring 80, beyond the position of FIGURE 8, a stop plate 84 is mounted in a groove 82 on the rearward side of the anvil block 40. This stop plate projects downwardly beyond the lower surface of the anvil block and bears against the surface 83 of the die 52 when the parts are in their normal positions. Plate 84 has an oversized opening at its upper end and a pin 88 extends from the anvil block 40 through this oversized opening. An arcuate spring is fixed to this pin and bears against the plate 84 to yieldingly maintain the plate against the surface of the groove 82.

It is necessary to swing the lower end of this stop plate leftwardly, as viewed in FIGURE 8, during operation of the tool to permit upward movement of the center die towards the anvil while the connector is being crimped. This stop plate is swung leftwardly and disengaged from the surface 83 of the center die by means of a camming pin 90 extending from the upper surface of the end die 54. The upper end of this camming pin has a camming surface 92 which slopes downwardly and towards the Web of the head frame 32 as viewed in FIGURE 8 so that upon upward movement of the end die 54, this surface will swing the plate out of engagement with the surface 83 of the center die 52 and permit upward movement of this center die. The pivotal motion of the plate 84 about its upper end is permitted by virtue of the oversized opening through which the pin 88 extends.

As is best shown in FIGURE 5, the right-hand side 98 of the center die 52 lies in substantially the same plane as the adjacent side 73 of the end die 54. The left-hand side 100 of the center die similarly lies in the same plane as the side 75 of the end die 56. By virtue of this arrangement, the portions 94, 96 of the sides 73, 75 of the end dies are cooperable with the underside 101 of the center die .to trim, by shearing, the wireswhich are being spliced. Advantageously, the undersides of the end dies 54, 56 slope divergently from the opposed faces 73, 75 of these dies as shown at 102, 104 in order to facilitate the positioning of the wires in the tool during use.

In use, the dies will normally be in the positions shown in FIGURE 4. The center die 52 is lowered by pushing downwardly on the pin 81 and an uncrimped connector is positioned between the die assembly and anvil with the open side of the connector facing downwardly. Thereafter, the center die is permitted to return to its normal position under the influence of the spring 80 and will hold the connector in the tool as indicated in FIGURE 8. The wire 16 which extends from the right in FIGURE 5 is laced between the sides 58 of the right-hand die 54, beneath the surface 101 of the center die, and past the surface 104. The wire 14 which extends from the left in FIGURE 5 is similarly laced between the forming surfaces of the die 56, beneath the surface 101 of the center die, and past the surface 102 of the end die 54. The handles are then closed to drive the ram upwardly from the position of FIGURE 5 to the position of FIGURE 7.

During initial upward movement of this ram, the spring 80 is partially compressed and the center die 52 is prevented from moving upwardly by virtue of the stop plate 84. The end dies 54, 56 thus move upwardly relative to the center die 52 until the underside of the center die is seated in the lower surface 77 of the notch in the die block 62. During this portion of the cycle, the wire 16 will be trimmed in the plane defined by the side 98 of the center die and the side 94 of the end die 54. At the same time, the wire 14 will be trimmed by shearing in the plane defined by the side 100 of the center die and the side 96 of the end die 56 (see FIGURE 6). The severed scrap ends 15, 17 then fall from the tool as shown and are discarded. It is during this portion of the cycle that the center die functions as a shearing member which cooperates with the slot between the end dies.

During movement of the end dies upwardly from the position of FIGURE 6 to the position of FIGURE 7,

the stop plate 84 is moved out of engagement with the upper surface 83 of the center die by the camming pin and the three dies are brought into axial alignment. When the three dies are in axial alignment with each other, the underside 101 of the center die will be seated against the surface 77 of the die block 62 so that upon further upward movement of the ram, the three dies move upwardly as a single unit to push the trimmed ends of the Wires 14, 16 relatively into the connector and crimp the sidewalls of the connector onto the wires as shown in FIGURE 1. The ram is then lowered by permitting the handle 22 to return to its normal position and the crimped connection is removed from between the center die in the anvil by lowering the center die with the pin 81.

As previously noted, only two wires 14, 16 are referred to while the form of the splice shown in FIGURE 1 has four wires extending into the connector, two wires extending into each end of the connector. The number of wires connected in the splice is "not critical, only two wires being referred to in the above description in the interest of simplicity. Obviously, if two wires are being crimped to each end of the connector, the wire 16' would extend parallel to the wire 16 and the wire 14 would extend substantially parallel to the wire 14 in FIG- URE 5.

The principles of the invention can be employed for making tap-type electrical connections as illustrated in FIGURE 9. In this figure, itis assumed that the tap conductor 118 is to be electrically connected to a through conductor 116. The through conductor is disposed between sidewalls 6 of the connector and between the forming surfaces of the center die 52. The tap conductor 118 is positioned between the forming surfaces of the end die 54 and extends downwardly past the surface 104 of end die 56. Upon closure of the two handles, the tap conductor 118 is trimmed in the plane of the side 98 of the center die and moved into the connector. The connector sidewalls are then curled towards each other and towards the web of the connector and both wires are forced into the notches 12 as explained above. The through conductor is, of course, not severed when the invention is practiced in this manner. Connections of this type as well as splices are frequently made in applications involving communications equipment such as telephone equipment.

As with the schematic embodiment of FIGURE 10, a salient advantage of the embodiment of FIGURE 4 is that the necessity for positioning the wires within the terminal prior to crimping is entirely avoided and it is merely necessary to pass each of the wires between one of the dies and under the central die. A further advantage is that each wire is trimmed and the cut ends of wires are properly positioned in the uncrimped connector immediately prior to its being crimped. In the embodiment of FIGURE 4, the connector is of the type intended to make contact with the insulating core of an insulated wire by means of the notches 12 in the tongues 10 which penetrate the insulation. The invention is obviously applicable to alternative forms of connectors which are intended to be crimped onto uninsulated wires or the stripped ends of insulated wires.

It will 'be apparent that the principles of the invention can be applied to connectors or terminals other than splice-type connectors. For example, a conventional ringtongue terminal having an open U-type ferrule can be crimped onto a wire by means of a tool which would have only two crimping dies corresponding to the dies 52, 54 in the embodiment of FIGURE 1. In such an embodiment the dies 52, 54 would crimp the ferrule portion of the terminal and the ring portion would extend leftwardly in FIGURE beyond the face or side 101) of the center die 52.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of FIGURE 4, the center die 52 functions as a shearing block when it cooperates with the end die 54 to trim the wire 16. Under some circumstances, the connector may not be provided with a crimpable portion which would be crimped by the die 52; for example, where the connector is of the ring-tongue type as described above. Under such circumstances it would not be necessary to provide forming surfaces in the block 52 to provide mechanism for the movement of this center block towards the connector. It is thus within the scope of the invention to provide a single crimping die which cooperates with a simple shearing die to shear the wire. The crimping die would be movable past the shearing die to crimp the connector onto the wire.

FIGURE 14 shows a slightly modified tool of the general type shown in FIGURE 4 and another method of lacing the wires 14, 16. When the lacing arrangement of FIGURE 14 is used, the center portions of the wires in the crimped connection will overlap each other as shown in FIGURE 18. In FIGURE 14, the wire 14 (which extends from the left) is laced above the center die 52' and is then led downwardly (as viewed in the drawing) beneath the end die 54 and through the gap between the center die and the one end die. The wire 16, which extends from the right, is also laced over the center die and is then passed downwardly and beneath the die 56' and through the gap between the center die and the die 56'. When the tool handles are closed, the end dies move relatively upwardly and the wire 14 will be trimmed in the plane of the right-hand side of the center die 52' and the wire 16 will be trimmed in the plane of the lefthand side of this center die. In this instance, the edges of the die cavities of the end dies 54, 56' cooperate with the lower edges of the center die to effect the severing operation. The scrap ends 14a, 16a of the wire will again fall free as shown in FIGURE 15 and the cut ends will be laid in the uncrimped connector. The connector is then crimped onto the cut ends upon further upward movement of the dies. The wires can also be laced as shown in FIGURE 16, that is, looped around the center die. It is also possible to lead the wires over the center die and directly downwardy as viewed in the drawing and the scraps ends will be sheared in the planes of the sides of the center die.

Since the wires 14, 16 overlap each other on the center die 52 after crimping, the resulting splice is as shown in FIGURE 18 with the wire ends overlapping in the crimped connection. Advantageously, the parts are proportioned and the connector is of such a length that the portions 14b, 16b which extend beyond the center die will be laid in the connector but will not extend to the ends of the connector. This result is achieved by making the length of the anvil 42 greater than the length of the center die 52' so that the anvil extends laterally beyond the ends of the center die. The connector has a length substantially equal to, or slightly less than, the length of the anvil. The ends of the wires are thereby surrounded by the connector and are not exposed. The cut ends 14b, 1611 will be urged upwardly to achieve this result by the forming surfaces of the end dies as these dies move upwardly. Under some circumstances, it might prove feasible to provide a clamping means on each side of the tool (besides the end dies) to hold the wires 14, 16 while the severing and crimping operations are being carried out.

The manner of lacing shown in FIGURES 14-16 has the advantage, also present in the previous embodiments,

of disposing of the scrap ends of wire. This advantage results from the fact that the wire ends are led externally of the forming surfaces of the crimping dies and remain outside of the composite crimping die (comprising the individual dies 52', 54, 56') when the dies 54' and 56' are brought into alignment with the die 52'.

It will be observed that the center die 52 of the embodiment of FIGURES 14-16 is somewhat wider than the center die of the embodiment of FIGURE 4. This modification is desirable for the reason that the center die in FIGURES 14-17 crimps the wire onto the overlapped portions of the wires 14, I6 and these overlapped portions should extend for a substantial portion of the length of the connector.

FIGURE 17 shows a further modified form of the invention in which the center die 52 is provided with recesses 120, 122 on its ends. These ne-cesses have the eifect of establishing the location at which shearing takes place relatively close to the die cavity of the center die 52" and the projecting cut ends (which would extend beyond the center die and which are shown at 14a, and 16a in FIGURE 15) will be shorter than the corresponding ends shown in FIGURE 15. These recesses can take the form of slots on the ends of the center die in which case they can be offset on each side of the axis of the die, an arrangement which locates the wires 14, 1 6 in parallel sideby-side relationship in the center die.

The embodiment of FIGURE 17 differs from the embodiment of FIGURES 14-16 in that the end dies 54", 56" are relatively more narrow than the end dies 54', 56'. The connector is also somewhat shorter than the connector of FIGURES 14-16. These changes result in a reduction in the size of the tool, a shortening of the splice, and a corresponding reduction of the amount of material required for the splice.

When a relatively short splice of the type shown in FIGURE 17 is being made, the end dies can, in fact, be eliminated undes some circumstances although blocks must be provided to cooperate with the center die to carry out the shearing operation. In other words, the blocks in which the end die forming surfaces are provided would be retained and cooper-ate as in the embodiment of FIGURES 14-17, with the center die to shear the wire ends. The entire connector would be crimped by the center die 52 the projecting ends of the connector sidewalls being carried with the center port-ions during the crimping operation.

It will be observed that the scrap wire ends 14a, 16a are eliminated from the crimping area immediately after the severing operation by virtue of the fact that the wires, in all embodiments, are laced in a manner such that these ends extend into the die, then through the plane in which shearing takes place, and then externally of the die. In FIGURE 10, this lacing arrangement is permitted by virtue of the slot in the die block. In the embodiments of FIGURES 4 and 14-17, the lacing arrangements shown are permitted by virtue of the composite die with a space between the end dies and the center die (when the dies are remote from the anvil) to permit the wire to extend through the shear plane and externally of the dies. It will thus be apparent that alternative lacing arrangements can be employed (compare FIGURES l0 and 14, for example) to achieve the benefits of the invention.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently diiferent modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective against the prior art.

9 We claim:

1. A device for crimping a channel-shaped connector onto two wires extending axially towards each other to form an electrical splice, said device comprising, a crimping die assembly including a center die and a pair of end dies, said end dies and said center die being movable relative to each other, an anvil for supporting said connector, said die assembly being movable towards said an-vil along a predetermined path, said center die being normally disposed between and in advance of said end dies, the sides of the center die having wire shearing edges cooperable with wire shearing edges on the adjacent sides of said end dies, means for moving said end dies along said path into a position of alignment with said center die, and means for moving said die assembly as a unit towards said anvil after said end dies move into alignment with said center die, said device being operative upon positioning said wires on said end dies with the ends of said wires projecting beyond said end dies, and upon movement of said end dies into alignment with said center die, to trim the ends of said wires by shearing in the planes of the sides of said center die, and said wires are thereafter carried into said connector by said die assembly and said-connector is cn'mped onto said wires as said die assembly moves towards said anvil.

2. A device for crimping .a channel-shaped connector onto two wires extending axially towards each other to form an electrical splice between said wires, said device comprising, an anvil for supporting said connector, a center crimping die mounted in opposed relationship to said anvil intermediate the ends thereof, a pair of end dies disposed in opposed relationship to said anvil on each side of said center die, the adjacent sides of said center die and said end dies having opposed cutting edges, resilient means biasing said center die towards said anvil, said center die being normally disposed in advance of said end dies along the path of movement of said dies towards said anvil, said end dies being movable from an open position into alignment with said center die during initial movement of said end dies towards said anvil, and lost motion coupling means acting between said center die and said end dies effective -to move said center die and said end dies as a unit during the final portion of the movement of said end dies towards said anvil said device being operative upon positioning said wires between said end dies and said anvil with the tip portion of each wire extending past said center die, and upon movement of said dies towards said anvil, to trim the ends of said wires by the adjacent side edges of said center and end dies, and the cut ends of said wires are thereafter pushed into said connector by said end dies, and saidvconnector is crimped throughout its length during movement of said dies as a unit.

3. A device for crimping an open-sided connecting device onto a pair of wires extending towards each other, said device comprising, a crimping die and a crimping anvil, said die having trough-like forming surface portions on one side thereof and extending from one end of said die to the opposite end thereof, a wire-receiving slot in said die intermediate said ends, said slot extending inwardly on a side adjacent to said one side and intersectin-g said forming surface portions and intersecting the side opposite to said one side, a shearing member disposed between said die and anvil when said die and anvil are apart, said shearing member having a width substantially equal to the width of said slot and being dimensioned to enter said slot, and means for moving said shearing member relatively into said slot to trim wires extending between said trough-like forming surfaces and thence laterally through said slot, and means for moving said die relatively towards said anvil to crimp a connector onto the trimmed ends of said wires.

4. A device for crimping an open-sided connecting device onto a pair of wires extending towards each other, said device comprising, a crimping die and a crimping anvil, said die having trough-like forming surface portions on one side thereof extending from one end to the opposite end thereof, a wire-receiving slot in said die intermediate said ends, said slot extending inwardly on a side adjacent to said one side and intersecting said trough-like forming surface portions and intersecting the side opposite to said one side, a wire shearing member disposed between said die 3 and anvil when said die and anvil are in their opened positions relative to each other, said shearing member having edges cooperable with edges defined by the intersection of said slot and said forming surface portions to form a shearing means, means for moving said shearing member relatively into said slot to shear the end portions of wires extending towards each other, between said die and anvil, and laterally through said slot, and means for thereafter moving said die and anvil relatively towards each other to crimp a connecting device positioned on said anvil onto the trimmed ends of said wires.

5. A device for crimping an open-sided connecting device onto a pair of wires extending towards each other, said device comprising, a crimping die and a crimping anvil, said die having trough-like forming surface portions on one side thereof and extending from one end to the opposite end thereof, a wire-receiving slot in said die intermediate said ends, said slot extending inwardly on a side adjacent to said one side and intersecting said one side and the side opposite to said one side, said slot permitting placement of said wires between said die and anvil with their ends extending laterally into said slot, a shearing member disposed between said die and anvil when said die and anvil are in their opened positions relative to each other, said shearing member being movable relatively into said slot and being cooperable with edges formed at the intersection of said slot and said troughlike forming surface portions to form a shearing means, means for moving said shearing member relatively into said slot to trim said wires, and means for moving said said anvil relatively towards said die after movement of said shearing member into said slot to crimp a connecting device positioned on said anvil onto said wires.

6. A device for crimping an open-sided connecting device onto a wire, said device comprising, a crimping die and a crimping anvil, said die having trough-like forming surface portions on one side thereof and extending from one end to the opposite end thereof, a wire-receiving slot' in said die intermediate said ends, said slot extending inwardly on a side adjacent to said one side and intersecting said one side, said trough-like forming surface portions, and the side opposite to said one side, a shearing member disposed between said die and anvil when said die and anvil are in their opened positions relative to each other, means for moving said shearing member relatively into said slot thereby to trim a Wire extending between said trough-like forming surface portions and laterally through said slot, and means for thereafter moving said die and anvil relatively towards each other to crimp a connecting device positioned on said anvil onto the trimmed end of said wire.

7. Apparatus for trimming the end portion of a wire and crimping a channel-shaped connecting device onto the trimmed end comprising, a crimping die and a crimping anvil, said die having crimping means on one side thereof and extending from one end thereof to the other end for crimping a connecting member onto a wire, said anvil extending parallel to said one side of said die and being spaced from said die, said anvil having a length greater than the length of said die and extending laterally beyond said die on one end, said die and anvil being movable relatively towards and away from each other along a predetermined path, a severing member disposed beside said path at said one end, said severing member being offset along said predetermined path with respect to said die, one end of said severing member and said one end of said die being disposed in a common plane with a gap between said severing member and said die, said common plane constituting a severing plane, means for moving said severing member relative to said die along said path until said severing member is in alignment with said die and said gap is closed, and means for thereafter moving said die and anvil relatively along said path towards each other, whereby a wire extending between said die and anvil and through said gap is trimmed in said severing plane and the trimmed section of wire falls free of said die and anvil, and a connector having a length substantially equal to the length of said anvil and disposed on said anvil is thereafter crimped onto said wire with the end of said wire recessed from the end of said connector.

8. Apparatus for trimming the end portion of a pair of Wires extending axially towards each other and crimping a channel-shaped connecting member onto the trimmed ends comprising a crimping die and a crimping anvil, crimping means on one side of said die extending from one end to the other end for crimping a connecting member onto a pair of wires, said anvil extending parallel to said one side of said die and being spaced from said die, said anvil having a length greater than the length of said die whereby the end portions of said anvil extend laterally beyond the end portions of said die, said die and anvil being movable relatively towards and away from each other along a predetermined path, a pair of severing members disposed on each side of said path, said severing members having ends which are disposed in common planes with the ends of said die, said common planes constituting severing planes, said severing members being offset with respect to said die along said predetermined path whereby gaps are provided between said severing members and the ends of said die, means for moving said severing members relative to said die along said path until said severing members move into alignment with side die and said gaps are closed, and means for thereafter moving said die relatively along said path towards said anvil, whereby a pair of wires positioned between said die and anvil with each Wire extending through one of said gaps are trimmed in said severing planes and the trimmed sections of wire fall free of said die and anvil, and a connector disposed on said anvil is thereafter crimped onto said wires.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1889 Hiller -121 X 4/1951 Miller 29212 X 

1. A DEVICE FOR CRIMPING A CHANNEL-SHAPED CONNECTOR ONTO TWO WIRES EXTENDING AXIALLY TOWARDS EACH OTHER TO FROM AN ELECTRICAL SPLICE, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING, A CRIMPING DIE ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A CENTER DIE AND A PAIR OF END DIES, SAID END DIES AND SAID CENTER DIE BEING MOVABLE RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER, AN ANVIL FOR SUPPORTING SAID CONNECTOR, SAID DIE ASSEMBLY BEING MOVABLE TOWARDS SAID ANVIL ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH, SAID CENTER DIE BEING NORMALLY DISPOSED BETWEEN AND IN ADVANCE OF SAID END DIES, THE SIDES TO THE CENTER DIE HAVING WIRE SHEARING EDGES COOPERABLE WITH WIRE SHEARING EDGES ON THE ADJACENT SIDES OF SAID END DIES, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID END DIES ALONG SAID PATH INTO A POSTION OF ALIGNMENT WITH SAID CENTER DIE, AND MEANS FOR MOVING SAID DIE ASSEMBLY AS A UNIT TOWARDS SAID ANVIL AFTER SAID END DIES MOVE INTO ALIGNMENT WITH SAID CENTER DIE, SAID DEVICE BEING OPERATIVE UPON POSITIONING SAID WIRES ON SAID END DIES WITH THE END OF SAID WIRES PROJECTING BEYOND SAID ENDS DIES, AND UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID END DIES INTO ALIGNMENT WITH SAID CENTER DIE, TO TRIM THE ENDS OF SAID WIRES BY SHEARING IN THE PLANES OF THE SIDES OF SAID CENTER DIE, AND SAID WIRES ARE THEREAFTER CARRIED INTO SAID CONNECTOR BY SAID DIE ASSEMBLY AND SAID CONNECTOR IS CRIMPED ONTO SAID WIRES AS SAID DIE ASSEMBLY MOVES TOWARDS SAID ANVIL. 